Texans' Benardrick McKinney making his presence felt at inside linebacker

Bursting through the middle of the New England offensive line on a blitz, Texans inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney sacked rookie Jacoby Brissett

McKinney was one of the few bright spots for the Texans during a 27-0 loss Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. He recorded a career-high 16 tackles, including the sack.

Starting every game this season, McKinney has 29 tackles and two sacks.

With veteran middle linebacker Brian Cushing sidelined with a sprained medial collateral ligament for the next two to four games, McKinney is wearing the helmet communication device to relay the defensive calls from the coaches to the huddle.

"I thought that McKinney played a good game," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "He had a bunch of tackles. McKinney, he's gotten better and better in this league and he's a really good player for us."

At a lean 6-4, 260 pounds with 4.65 speed in the 40-yard dash and a 401/2-inch vertical leap, McKinney is one of the most athletic players on the defense.

The Texans expect even bigger contributions from the former second-round draft pick from Mississippi State after watching him record 68 tackles, including seven for losses and a sack, as a rookie in 14 games.

"We have to get back in the workshop," McKinney said. "Everybody believes in this team. We're like family. We didn't play like we wanted to play. We did miss some tackles.

"We need to have fun and play our style of defense. I just did my job. We lost. I'm really not into stats. When we lose, I'm definitely not into it."

Tackle Brownnearing return

Although Texans Pro Bowl alternate left tackle Duane Brown won't play next week against the Tennessee Titans, Texans coach Bill O'Brien isn't ruling him out as a possibility for the following game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Brown is close to being cleared to do individual drills. Brown is recuperating from surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon suffered at the end of last season.

"I think he's closer," O'Brien said. "I don't think he will play against Tennessee, but I know that there's a shot for the next game."

Meanwhile, rookie wide receiver Braxton Miller is nearing his return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him against New England.

"I don't think it's long term, I really don't," O'Brien said. "He's in there right now getting treatment, so we will see how it is this week."

Texans rookie tight end Stephen Anderson left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.

"It's not that bad," said Anderson, who has five catches for 40 yards through three games. "It's very mild."

Special-teamsmiscues costly

The level of frustration with the Texans' kick returners hit a peak against the New England Patriots.

First, reserve cornerback Charles James lost a fumble that led to a touchdown.

"We had a plan in place there based on a couple different things and that's where Charles ended up being," coach Bill O'Brien said. "I'm not going to get into the specifics of that, but that's something that we game-planned for and it didn't really work obviously.

"Ervin is the primary returner. Ervin's young. He's a rookie. He's had some decent returns. He'll learn from it. He'll get better and we'll really work to improve it."

O'Brien weighs in on Brown's raised fist

Texans coach Bill O'Brien addressed offensive tackle Duane Brown raising his fist during the national anthem, a symbol of support as he expressed his displeasure with the rash of deadly police shootings of black men around the nation.

O'Brien has spoken with Brown about his decision.

"We've been clear as an organization that our expectation for the Houston Texans is that we stand for the national anthem," O'Brien said. "This team has a long history of supporting our veterans, active military and our first responders. This support has been evident since the inception of the franchise.

"I understand that there is a lot going on in this country right now and that we all have strong opinions about it. Duane Brown expressed himself during the anthem, which is his right. It's his right of free speech. It's his right to do what he did during the anthem last night. "

Aaron Wilson is a Texans beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, joining the paper in August 2015. He was a Baltimore Ravens beat writer from 2001 to 2015, working for The Baltimore Sun, including coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, the Ray Rice domestic violence case and the careers of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden, and previously covered the team for the Carroll County Times and the Annapolis Capital.

This marks the second time the Washington, D.C. native has covered the AFC South, previously covering the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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